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See how the impact of the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU has rippled across the globe, politically and economically. VPC
Nigel Farage, center, is one of the leaders of the Leave movement.(Photo: Matt Dunham, AP)
Anger has been with politics forever. Just ask the angry colonists who fought a revolution against taxes from London.
Rarely, however, have voters been given a virtual free pass to exercise their anger as they did Thursday by voting narrowly to take the United Kingdom out of the European Union.
And the lesson for residents of Europe, the U.K. and the United States is that anger looks for the simplest solution and chooses it, if possible. The British pro-EU forces cited many risks in leaving<span style="color: Red;">*</span><span style="color: Red;">*</span>—<span style="color: Red;">*</span>potential economic turbulence or<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the rupturing of ties with an entire continent —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>but the supporters of Leave had heard those threats and promises time and again. They felt pushed around, and they didn't care.
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It's easy to say those who voted to leave the EU were under-educated and short-sighted, and the polls bear out the former. One British exit poll indicated that 66% of voters who stopped going to school at age 16 voted for Leave, while 71% of university graduates voted to Remain.
But it's too easy to dismiss the anger as based solely on opposition to immigration or bureaucrats in Brussels. For decades, working-class voters in Britain, Europe and the United States have heard countless promises from their politicians and business leaders. The data may support the benefits of free trade or reduced dependence on coal, but for many who have lost their jobs the data mean nothing.
Voters have been told by politicians of all stripes that their problems have simple answers. Repeal Obamacare and everything will be better. Support NAFTA and the overall economy will grow. Vote for us, and the factory<span style="color: Red;">*</span>you and your family have worked in for decades will remain open. Then nothing happens or the plant closes and moves somewhere with cheaper labor costs.
Telling angry people they're stupid for not "getting it" is not a winning strategy.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Their anger<span style="color: Red;">*</span>builds and looks for an outlet.
In the U.K.,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>British Prime Minister David Cameron gave angry voters one.
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Cameron played to the anger when he ran for re-election in 2015. Desperate to win a pure majority for his Conservative Party, he tacked right to fight off the United Kingdom Independence Party and its leader, Nigel Farage, who was one of the main forces behind Leave. He promised Thursday's referendum in the hopes he could placate the anti-EU right and then keep Britain in the EU later after he had preserved his hold on power. He dumped on the left-leaning Labour Party on the way and incurred their anger.
That was enough in 2015, but not on Thursday. Voters in Labour-dominated areas outside of London voted for Leave, as did Conservative constituencies throughout England. What worked for Cameron in 2015 failed him. He's now out of a job.
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It's not always easy to know the root causes of anger in a population, be it here, in Afghanistan or the United Kingdom. Understanding it requires a constant commitment from elected officials and private industry. Supporters of Remain<span style="color: Red;">*</span>or the opponents of Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, can dismiss the anger as the feverish rantings of people too dumb to see the big picture.
That, however, can be as shortsighted as the anger itself. Just ask David Cameron, private citizen, or the bankers in the City of London and Wall Street trying to keep their investments afloat.
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